Can You Eat Snails After Double Eyelid Surgery? How Long Should You Avoid Them?

Hello, thank you for sending your question to Gangwhoo Cosmetic Hospital. This is a concern that many clients have after undergoing eyelid surgery, especially the question “Can you eat snails after double eyelid surgery?”. The doctor will explain in detail so you can better understand why snails should be avoided and how long the restriction should last to help the eyelid area heal faster and minimize undesirable scarring.

Can you eat snails after double eyelid surgery?

The answer is it is not recommended to eat snails during the early period after double eyelid surgery.

From a medical perspective, snails belong to a group of foods with cooling properties and can easily cause irritation in individuals with sensitive constitutions. When the body is in the wound-healing phase after surgery, consuming snails may increase the risk of inflammation, delayed wound healing, and even the formation of hypertrophic scars or dark scars in the eyelid area.

During the double eyelid surgery, the doctor removes excess skin and fat and sutures to create a new eyelid crease. At this time, the surrounding tissue is still very sensitive. If you consume irritating foods such as snails, seafood, or shrimp, the body may react with redness, itching, or mild suppuration at the incision site. This not only affects the healing speed but also increases the risk of unwanted scarring.

Therefore, doctors recommend that you temporarily avoid eating snails during the early postoperative period. This dietary restriction helps the eyelid wound recover faster, limits inflammation, and ensures the most stable and natural aesthetic results.

How long should snails be avoided after double eyelid surgery?

In general, after about 3–4 weeks from undergoing double eyelid surgery, the eyelid wound begins to stabilize, the skin heals, and swelling significantly decreases. However, the exact duration depends on each individual’s constitution, healing ability, and postoperative care.

If you have a sensitive constitution or a history of hypertrophic scarring, doctors advise avoiding snails for at least 1–2 months to ensure the eyelid area fully recovers and to minimize the risk of irritation or hyperpigmentation. During this time, you should supplement your diet with foods rich in vitamins A, C, E, and healthy protein such as lean meat, eggs, green vegetables, oranges, and carrots to promote faster tissue regeneration.

In addition, to achieve optimal recovery, you should follow proper wound care instructions—including gentle cleansing, avoiding rubbing the eyes, refraining from eyelid makeup, and limiting direct sun exposure during the first 2 weeks.

Foods to avoid after double eyelid surgery

Besides avoiding snails during the early postoperative period, doctors also recommend avoiding several other foods that may negatively affect wound healing, including:

• Sticky rice, glutinous rice, traditional rice cakes: Easily cause suppuration and delay wound healing.

• Chicken and beef: Increase the risk of dark scars or hypertrophic scars in the eyelid area.

• Seafood (shrimp, crab, squid): Cooling in nature, easily causing allergies and itching at the incision site.

• Water spinach: Stimulates excessive collagen production, increasing the risk of hypertrophic scarring.

• Stimulants (beer, alcohol, coffee): Cause vasodilation and negatively affect the wound-healing process.

Instead, you should maintain a healthy diet, drink enough water, and get adequate sleep to help the eyelids recover more quickly. Doctors also recommend attending follow-up appointments as scheduled to monitor the healing process and promptly address any abnormal signs.

If you still have concerns about whether you can eat snails after double eyelid surgery or would like more detailed advice on postoperative nutrition and care, you can visit Gangwhoo Cosmetic Hospital directly for consultation.

Here, the team of ophthalmic–aesthetic specialists at Gangwhoo, with many years of experience, along with exclusive endoscopic microsurgical double eyelid surgery using Plasma technology, helps minimize swelling and inflammation, shorten recovery time, and deliver the most youthful and natural-looking eyes for you.